UK car exports reach 5 million since 2010

Almost eight out of ten vehicles made in Britain are now shipped overseas, says industry body.

132,570 cars were manufactured in the UK for the month of July, a rise of 2.8% – taking the total for 2014 so far to 923,884 an increase of 3.4% when compared with same period as last year. Mikes Hawes Chief Executive of the SMMT comments: “The UK automotive industry continued its renaissance in July, with the month marking five million car exports since 2010” – by far the best performance of any decade.

The average price of exporting a car today is £20,600, an increase of over 50% when compared with £10,200 in 2004.

The SMMT comments that the rise in exports is due to the increasing popularity of luxury British brands overseas and strong international demand for them. Stats show that almost eight out of ten vehicles that are manufactured in Britain are now exported to countries such as China.

Car manufacturing has seen a resurgence recently with billions of pounds of investment pumped into UK factories by foreign-owned companies such as Bentley, Nissan, Land Rover, Jaguar and Toyota. So far 923,884 cars have rolled off the UK production lines – up 3.4 per cent on the start of 2013.

The SMMT forecasts that around just under 1.6 million cars will be produced in the UK in 2014. It predicts that 2017 will smash the previous record of 1.92m cars set in 1972.

John Leech – Head of Automotive at KPMG, said the figures underline “how the UK has successfully moved up the value-chain to become predominately a producer of luxury cars and higher-priced volume cars”.

“Other Western European Countries will be looking enviously at the UK as these vehicles provide a stable and profitable platform giving suppliers the confidence to invest, which they are doing,” he added.

“The UK automotive industry continued its renaissance in July, with the month marking five million car exports since 2010”, said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “This is a major milestone and testament to the burgeoning reputation of UK automotive excellence and demand for British-made cars. Significantly, UK car export values have doubled over the past decade – reflecting the diversity of the products we make and providing the sector’s worth as a global investment opportunity.”